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US Market Live Update: Wall Street opened sharply higher on Friday, building on a record-setting rally as easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East lifted risk appetite.The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped over 500 points, or 1.1%, at the open. The S&P 500 advanced 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9%, extending gains after both indices closed at fresh highs in the previous session.The rally comes as sentiment improves following a breakthrough on the geopolitical front. Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open” for commercial vessels during the ongoing ceasefire period, easing concerns around a key global oil chokepoint.The move follows a 10-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, announced by President Donald Trump, who has also signalled that the broader conflict with Iran could be nearing an end.Trump said the war “should be ending pretty soon” and described the situation as “going along swimmingly,” while earlier noting that a deal with Tehran is “very close.”Markets have reacted swiftly to the de-escalation signals, with all three major indices now firmly in positive territory for the week.The stock market rally is turning global once again, with equities outside the US climbing to fresh highs alongside Wall Street.The iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF touched its first intraday record since late February, underscoring that the current uptrend is not limited to the US.A weaker US Dollar Index—down in nine of the past 10 sessions—has been a key driver, boosting returns across international markets.While the S&P 500 has surged about 12% over the past 13 sessions, several global markets have outperformed. Country-focused ETFs tracking South Korea, Taiwan, Greece, Poland, Chile and Turkey have all delivered stronger gains during the latest rally.

Investors should tread carefully despite the market rally following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Doug Beath of Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

Beath noted that while markets are reacting positively to the resumption of oil flows, risks remain. Iran’s conditions, including designated shipping routes and the possibility of tanker tolls, add uncertainty, especially as the reopening is only guaranteed through the ceasefire period.

He emphasised that the broader outlook still hinges on how negotiations evolve, even as investors shift focus toward fundamentals such as earnings and inflation expectations.

Oil prices are on track for their worst weekly decline in six years after Iran said it would open the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures plunged more than 14% on Friday, taking weekly losses to around 16%, the sharpest drop since April 2020.

Lower oil prices lifted risk sentiment, with the S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector rising 2.5% to lead gains. Cruise operators, including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival, surged more than 9%.

Big Tech has reasserted leadership as markets push deeper into record territory, with the S&P 500 logging multiple record closes and momentum shifting firmly toward growth.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund became the first major large-cap sector ETF to hit a fresh all-time high, while the Invesco S&P SmallCap Information Technology ETF also extended its rally to a fifth straight record.

Strength within semiconductors remains a key driver, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF notching multiple intraday highs and heading toward a 13-day winning streak, alongside the Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq-100.

The rally is broad-based, with several major indexes, including the Russell 2000 and S&P MidCap 400, also touching record levels, alongside gains across sectors and global markets.

The S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector led gains on Friday, rising 2.5% to emerge as the top-performing segment among the index’s 11 sectors.

Driving the rally were cruise operators including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival, all of which surged more than 9% during the session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 850 points, or 1.7%. The S&P 500 traded up 1.07%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2%.

The rally comes as sentiment improves following a breakthrough on the geopolitical front. Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open” for commercial vessels during the ongoing ceasefire period, easing concerns around a key global oil chokepoint.Wall Street opened sharply higher on Friday, building on a record-setting rally as easing geopolitical tensions in West Asia lifted risk appetite.The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped over 500 points, or 1.1%, at the open. The S&P 500 advanced 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9%, extending gains after both indices closed at fresh highs in the previous session.The rally comes as sentiment improves following a breakthrough on the geopolitical front. Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open” for commercial vessels during the ongoing ceasefire period, easing concerns around a key global oil chokepoint.

Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz fully open to commercial traffic during the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the move allows all commercial vessels to pass through the key oil transit route for the duration of the truce, although ships will be required to follow designated coordinated routes set by Iranian maritime authorities.The development points to a temporary easing of tensions in one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.Netflix is seeing support from analysts despite a sharp sell-off, with many recommending investors “buy the dip” after the stock tumbled following its latest results.The company reported first-quarter revenue of $12.25 billion, beating estimates and rising 16% year-on-year, but weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter dampened investor sentiment.Additional pressure came from leadership changes, including the departure of co-founder Reed Hastings, and strategic uncertainty after scrapping a planned deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.Shares fell more than 10% in premarket trade, putting the stock on track for its steepest decline since October.The US stock market has staged one of its fastest recoveries in years, climbing from a near correction to record highs in a remarkably short span.The S&P 500 completed a round trip from a roughly 9% decline to a new all-time closing high in just 54 trading sessions — the quickest such recovery since 2020, according to Barclays strategist Venu Krishna. From the trough, the rebound to a new high took just 11 trading days, the fastest for similar pullbacks since at least 1990.The rally has pushed the S&P 500 past the 7,000 mark for the first time, while the Nasdaq Composite notched a 12-day winning streak — its longest since 2009.The sharp turnaround has been driven by a mix of easing geopolitical concerns, strong bank earnings, softer inflation data, and renewed buying in AI-linked sectors such as semiconductors, media, and hardware.NewsLive TVMarketPopular CategoriesCalculatorsTrending NowLet's Connect with CNBCTV 18Network 18 Group :©TV18 Broadcast Limited. All rights reserved.